Britain's Slavery Debt: Reparations Now!

Britain owes reparations to the Caribbean for historic wrongs, including colonialism and slavery. Michael Banner proposes a specific and practical proposal based on the nearly £20 million paid as compensation by the British government at abolition. Reparations Now! discusses what can be done to advance the case for reparations between national governments.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2024
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Britain owes reparations to the Caribbean for historic wrongs committed during the era of slavery and colonialism. The exploitation of generations of trafficked Africans and enslaved individuals enriched both the British people and the British nation, and colonialism continued to perpetuate this exploitation even after emancipation. The Caribbean continues to suffer from the consequences of these wrongs, while Britain continues to benefit. While there are objections to reparations, such as the fact that slavery ended a long time ago, Britain should be celebrating its role in abolishing slavery, and the fact that slavery was legal at the time, Michael Banner addresses these objections in his book Reparations Now! He proposes a specific and practical proposal for reparations, building on the programme suggested by Caribbean countries (through CARICOM) and taking as a starting point the nearly £20 million paid as compensation by the British government at abolition, not to those who had suffered slavery, but to those who lost enslaved labourers. Reparations Now! discusses what can be done, here and now, by individuals and institutions to advance the case for reparations between national governments.

Weight: 342g
Dimension: 143 x 223 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198889441